Mallory Hayes-Group 1

From reading about Ben and Will in Skemp, it seemed to me that their relationship started off rough. It's sad that Will might have felt ignored by his dad; considering all the achievements he is known for and how much of his time and effort he must of put into them. Even though Will was given many great educational and career opportunities by his father, it seemed like Ben was mapping out how he wanted his son to be, even at a young age. Not being accepted for who you are or who you want to be can affect a person. Maybe Will just wanted to make his dad proud but by doing it on his own standards, like when he joined the forces. Ultimately they seemed to find a common ground, like their interests in electricity and the whole kite experiment. After that, long leisurely trips to England also bonded them closer. How would have Will and all of us turned out if Ben gave up some of the things that we still benefit from today, if he would have concentrated more on his needy son and hovered over him after his run away attempt? What would we be missing out on if Ben dropped out of the spotlight to tend to his family affairs (like after his baby boy died)? Thankfully he was too ambious of a person to do so.
In Henretta, the thing that got me the most was the Great Awakening. I can imagine going to church before this happened and falling to sleep during every sermon. People finally realized how to not be so uptight and structured. They needed to spice things up a bit! Sure, go ahead and get a theater performer to speak the word of god to you, as long as it works and keep you AWAKE that's all that matters. It was also a good thing for the kids back then too. I'm sure they were stoked to go to church now! If this would not of taken place would there be as many people attending church today? Or better yet, would Methodist and Baptist be major parts of religion, after all this new style is what made the two so big?

Tracey Ganem Group 1

Benjamin advanced pretty far on his own two feet given that his father, Josiah, was a candle maker among other things, and his mother, Abiah, was an indentured servant (bought by Benjamin’s father for 20 pounds). Benjamin seemed to be a bit unwise to me at first. Maybe it was his lack of experience in the “real world” but most of his plans fell through in the beginning. Benjamin is always portrayed as this brilliant guy when in fact he was a bit absent minded in some areas (such as preparing for his failures). Benjamin’s first job with Samuel Keimer was a dud because the two didn’t get along which pretty much set the standard for all of his successes to come-- starting his own business seemed to be inevitable. Benjamin and his son, William, were a lot closer than most history classes reveal to their students. I never read much about either of their personal lives until this book (Skemp reading). In chapter 3: Government men, Skemp states that Benjamin and William start to drift apart because of the Franklins’ English Sojourn. I did not really understand their drifting apart because throughout chapter 3 both men seem to still keep in close contact with one another, so the 3rd chapter kind of lost me.
In chapter 3: The Great Aristocratic Land Grab (Henretta), Charles II was considered to be an extravagant man who was always in dept which reminded me in many ways of the reading on Benjamin Franklin (with Benjamin constantly being in debt). Charles II ends up giving all his territory between the Delaware and Connecticut Rivers to his brother James, the duke of York, which also reminded me of Benjamin Franklin in the aspect of Benjamin’s close relationship with his son William. In the Skemp reading Benjamin and William share their success and in the Henretta reading Charles II and James share their territory (although they are not father and son but brothers). John Lock’s Two Treatises on Government was a confusing concept for me that was hard to get past in the reading but Lock later emphasized the impact of environment, experience, and reason on human behavior which let me get a closer look at Lock’s reasoning. Chapter 4 of the Henretta reading was focused a lot on the Puritan Ideology which states that men are head of the house and women basically have babies and clean the house (in so many words). As a female, I was thinking maybe the loss of property in one-half of all white men in the Middle Atlantic region in the 1760s had something to do with the men not helping out with all the women‘s chores. (just a thought).

sarah rabe group 1

In the readings by Henretta the slave trade is talked about quite frequently. The way I see it is without slaves we wouldn't have made the progress we have today, and that’s pathetic. Just because whites were to lazy to do the work necessary for producing goods they turned to people of a different color skin and discriminated against them because of that. What if the tables had turned and the Africans took over the whites and turned them into their slaves? How different would our world and cultures be today? To me it is easy to relate slave trade to the holocaust because obvious relationship between the two is discrimination because of cultural differences. In both cases whether they were Jewish or Africans they both lost the feeling or self worth, dignity and their cultural identities all together. Why did so many people step in to stop the holocaust yet the slave trade put more than 15 million Africans under control of wealthy whites who felt they had more power over everyone?

In skemps readings the conflicts that arise between Benjamin and William never seem to diminish. After Benjamin had given William so many opportunities to do well in life by actively participating in his printing businesses he continually refused the opportunities. It was very difficult for Benjamin to understand why his son was so different then he was. William was so resentful of his father’s passions because he constantly took part in public affairs. Benjamin tried to be a good father but it was very hard for him to watch his son defend the king and empire because it was very hard for him to get recognition being a colonist. How would you deal with your child continually rejecting the opportunities you gave them?

Zach Davis-Presentation Group 1

The readings from Skemp mention several times that Benjamin Franklin dreads returning to the Colonies after spending time in England. He prefers the intellectual environment in England over simple company in America. What if Benjamin Franklin decided to never return to the colonies? Would losing his impressive influence reshape our country? How integral a part of America's history is Benjamin Franklin?

The Enlightenment was a very important part in the development of logical thinking, reason over religion, and democracy. The movement had no clear spark that started the entire thing. It seams that maybe the thinker's like John Locke may have sparked it but maybe the movement sparked the thinker's whom helped spread the Enlightenment. I believe that there was a spark before the theorists and thinkers that probably inspired them to spread theses ideas. There is no doubt in my mind though that the contributors to the Enlightenment and its spread played an important role in revolutionizing the way we think.

Guidance on Reading, Presenting and Posting

When you are reading the texts, in a presentation group, writing posts and/or presenting about the readings in discussion, here are some questions you can address:

General
Why did these events take place? Could there have been a different outcome?
Did you read about any events that were “unintended consequences” of earlier actions/events?
Do you think the events/people you read about were or were not representative of other events/people of this time period? Why or why not?
How does the reading complicate/complement what you’ve learned from Dr. Weber’s lecture, other history classes, mass media or anywhere else?
Does leaving out any of the events/people in the readings change interpretations of history?
Why do you think Dr. Weber chose this reading assignment out of the many other topics she could have chosen?
Did any of the reading support or contradict stereotypes?

Specific
Why did the American Revolution happen? Did it have to?
How did the United States come to have the founding documents (Declaration of Independence, Constitution)?
What were the implications of the Revolution on American society?
What was the role of lower classes, religion, women, African Americans, Native peoples, immigrants, and other groups during this time?
How did the market and transportation revolutions change the nation?
What was the role of slavery?
Why did the country have a Civil War?

Welcome

This is the blog for History 128 Discussion Section on Wednesday at 2pm, led by Tai Edwards.